Tag: Tehran Thomas

Coach Tim Keane huddles with his offensive linemen during Saturday’s FCS playoff game against Northern Iowa. UC Davis won 23-16 to advance to the quarterfinals.

Tim Keane has been on his planet long enough to know quite a few folks. What the UC Davis offensive line coach does not know is why several of them decided to send him a text messageon Nov. 20. The messages were eerily similar in that each made reference to the 13 football coaches in the Big Sky Conference and how those men made their the all-conference selections.

UC Davis was well represented with quarterback Jake Maier being named the Offensive Player of the Year and wide receiver Keelan Doss being the selected to the first team for the second time. Linebacker Mason Moe, defensive back Vincent White and tight end Wes Preece were second-team selections. Defensive back Isiah Olave, wide receiver Jared Harrell and running back Ulonzo Gilliam were named to the third team. Running back Tehran Thomas, return specialist Namane Modise and punter Dan Whelan earned honorable mention.

A school-record 11 honorees for the Aggies makes it easy to under why Keane was bombarded with messages after the All-Big Sky selections were revealed. Congratulations were in order for second-year head coach Dan Hawkins and each member of his staff. The messages that Keane received were more snippy than congratulatory, however.

Keane was not all bothered that one of his offensive linemen was not honored, but it sure seemed like quite a few of friends were. After all, Maier was sacked just five times in eight Big Sky games. That matched Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for the fewest sacks allowed in the conference even though UC Davis had 246 more passing attempts.

“Maybe it’s just that our offensive line is so good,” Keane said, “that none of them stand out.”

UC Davis shared the Big Sky championship with Eastern Washington and Weber State. Eastern Washington had all five of its starting offensive linemen honored, and Weber State had three. UC Davis did not get as much a pat on the back for an offensive or defensive lineman. Others can be upset about that, but Keane put it in perspective after the text tsunami.

“It was surprised by how many text messages I got. It kind of caught me off guard,” Keane said. “My response is that in the last two years we’ve had the Offensive Player of the Year in the conference. What better compliment for an offensive line than two years in a row having the top offensive player in the conference (Doss won in 2017). It all starts with those five guys.”

Credit will come in time for sophomores Colton Lamson and Kooper Richardson, redshirt freshman Connor Petek and true freshman Jake Parks. Nine of the 11 offensive starters for UC Davis in Saturday’s 23-16 victory over Northern Iowa will return in 2019. Doss and left guard Ramsey Hufford will depart as seniors. A 10-2 record in 2018 might be just the beginning of winning for the Aggies, who will travel to face Eastern Washington in the FCS quarterfinals.

Keane was an offensive lineman at UC Davis from 2003 to 2006 and started at center in his last two seasons. He can speak from experience in acknowledging that obscurity comes with the job description of a lineman. Keane prefers it that way. So do his linemen, especially since Keane said none of them has raised an eyebrow over the all-conference selections.

“Those guys are blue collar,” Keane said. “They live in the shadows. They don’t want any credit.”

Ulonzo Gilliam’s 46-yard touchdown run gave UC Davis a 10-0 lead Saturday, but Eastern Washington scored the next 21 points on its way to a 59-20 win in Cheney. The Aggies are 6-1 in the Big Sky and share first place with Eastern Washington and Weber State.

Jake Maier (above) was held without a touchdown pass for just the second time this season. Tehran Thomas (right) gets a lift from Justin Kraft (82) and Ramsey Hufford after his 69-yard touchdown run.

Wesley Preece would have likely won the Best Supporting Actor award in 2017 if UC Davis staged a football version of the Academy Awards. As wsenior ide receiver Keelan Doss was stealing the show last season by catching 115 passes for 1,499 yards, Preece had a team-high nine touchdown receptions at tight end.

A nomination for the 2018 sequel would have been unlikely for Preece after one month. The junior went from catching at least two passes in each of 11 games last year to having just four receptions in the first four games this season. And three of those four were in the season opener Aug. 31 at San Jose State.

With his hands so idle, Preece could have raised one and asked why he is being written out of the script. Little has changed for Doss, who had 32 receptions in the first four games, so what gives with Preece? When quarterback Jake Maier calls the shots, Preece is difficult to overlook at 6-foot-5 and 238 pounds.

Tight end Wesley Preece, a Rocklin High graduate, went from catching one pass in three games to three touchdown receptions in one game.

Maier has had eyes for other receivers this season, however. Saturday’s 49-36 victory at Northern Colorado was the fourth consecutive game in which UC Davis had at least 10 players catch a pass. The Aggies did not reach double digits in 2017 until their fourth game, and that was only time they did so last season.

A growing cast makes it difficult for offensive coordinator Tim Plough to spread the wealth without a player or two settling for less. And even when Plough creates the right mix, an opponent’s defense can sack it.

“It’s not like (Preece) has diminished in our game plan,” said Paul Creighton, the tight ends coach. “It’s that teams have done things to take (Doss) and (Preece) out of the game plan. We watch a team on film and then they come out to play us and they have a different game plan because of (Doss) and (Preece).”

Whatever Northern Colorado’s strategy was, it did not work. Doss caught 11 passesfor 161 yards and a touchdown. Preece has his second career hat trick by turning three of his four receptions into touchdowns.

So much for Preece being written out and off. He leads the Aggies in touchdown receptions with four. Doss, sophomore wide receiver Jared Harrell and freshman running back Ulonzo Gilliam each have two.

It will be interesting to see what Idaho State’s defense will do to contain Doss and Preece when the Bengals visit Davis at 4 p.m. Saturday. Preece will be ready for anything and take what comes his way. Head coach Dan Hawkins has preached for the players to focus on the puzzle instead of a piece or two.

“Coach Hawk changed the culture here,” said Preece, a 2016 Rocklin High School graduate. “so it is more about the team than the individual player. If we’re winning by 30 points and I don’t get a catch, I don’t care. If you take me away or you take away (Doss), then we’ve got Jared Harrell and Khris Vaughn.”

The Aggies also have Gilliam,who might be the best back UC Davis has had in recent years. He has rushed for a team-high 334 yards and six touchdowns. Gilliam has also earned an invitation to the passing party and is second to Doss in receptions with 21. Doss now has 43.

Preece deserves some credit for Gilliam’s productivity because he has worked to become a better blocker. When Preece is not targeted by Maier, he contributes to the offense by doing the dirty work of blocking.

“Look at tight ends in the NFL and they’re all good receivers.” Creighton said. “What separates the good ones from the great ones is being an asset in the run game. That is something (Preece) has spent a lot of time working on. He focuses on what he needs to get better at 100 percent of the time and never fixates on what he’s good at. Sometimes, it’s almost to a fault. It’s like you have to tell him that he’s pretty damn good.”